A Greek appeals court has convicted two men accused of playing leading roles in an agricultural subsidy fraud scheme, sentencing each to 12 months in prison, suspended for three years, over attempted fraud involving European Union funds.

The ruling by the Thessaloniki Three-Member Court of Appeal for Misdemeanors concerns three cases of attempted fraud dating back to 2019 and 2020.

Those convicted include a 39-year-old man described by prosecutors as the leader of the criminal network and a 55-year-old accountant. Both are already being held in pre-trial detention as part of a broader investigation into an subsidy fraud network uncovered in October last year following a joint probe by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Greece’s Organized Crime Unit in northern Greece.

The court found both men guilty as accomplices in attempted fraud against the financial interests of the European Union. The offenses had previously been investigated by Greek judicial authorities following complaints.

According to the indictment, the scheme involved temporarily registering “orphan” land plots in the tax records of unsuspecting individuals, making them appear to be the owners. The land was then declared as leased to farmers who subsequently applied for EU agricultural subsidies.

Authorities say the method mirrors the practices uncovered in the wider investigation, which covers offenses committed between 2019 and 2024.

The same court also sentenced a farmer to 12 months in prison, suspended for three years, after convicting him of two counts of attempted fraud and one count of forgery.

A former deputy mayor received the same suspended sentence after being found guilty of issuing a false certification by authenticating the signature of a temporary landowner involved in the case.

None of the four convicted defendants were granted mitigating circumstances. The appeals court upheld the same sentences that had previously been imposed by a lower court.